Life Goes On
by Pink Flamingos Are Tacky
Summary: Sydney goes on a mission with Sark and discovers that there is more to him than she thinks. When she returns, her parents have been sent on a mission in Malaysia. Somehow, in the midst of all this, romantic sparks fly between S/V +S/S Finished!! R/R
1. Chapter One

Disclaimer: I don't own Alias, blah, blah, blah! This has absolutely nothing to do with the Leann Rimes song, "Life Goes On." Enjoy!  
  
"Wait," Sydney held up her hand, stopping Sloane's explanation. "A mission with Sark? Another mission with Sark?"  
  
Sloane raised an eyebrow; clearly amused that Sydney was so flustered. "Is that all right?" he asked.  
  
"Oh, of course it's all right," she said sarcastically. "How the hell do you expect me to work with someone who I only trust as far as I can throw him?" she asked.  
  
Sloane ignored her. "Prior to contrary belief, the CIA had assumed that due to the corrupted files on the Echelon disk, we wound be unable to access Echelon. We have located a small base in Lagos, Nigeria."  
  
"Where?" Sydney looked confused.  
  
"Nigeria."  
  
"Oh."  
  
"The base once belonged to Gerard Cuvee. You and Mr. Sark will infiltrate the base. He will be disguised as one of Cuvee's more wealthy contacts and you.will play his girlfriend."  
  
Sydney's gum shot out of her mouth and stuck to the wall behind Sloane. He calmly took a Kleenex from his desk and pulled it off. "I draw the line at his girlfriend," said Sydney.  
  
Sloane smiled. "His fiancée, perhaps?" he looked at her curiously.  
  
She stared at him, her eyes narrowed. "I thought so," he said when she didn't respond. She stood to leave and he handed her a folder. "Alias, ticket, passport," she nodded in response.  
  
Oh God, she thought, Sark! She rounded the corner and came face to face with the, bloody son of a bitch himself, her mind finished for her.  
  
"Agent Bristow," he said, eyeing the folder and nodding. "We leave tonight at 6:30. I'll pick you up. Where do you live?"  
  
"In a box by the side of the road," she muttered.  
  
"And the address of that box it?" he responded.  
  
"Look, I'm not telling you where I live."  
  
He held up a folder. She squinted to see what was written on the tab. It was her file.  
  
"I'll meet you somewhere," she said quickly, not wanting to take the chance of Will being home.  
  
"With your suitcase?" he asked, flipping her folder open. She watched as he scribbled her address down on a sheet of paper.  
  
"See you tonight," he said with a smile. She gave him a dark look and turned and left.  
  
***  
  
"Syd!" Francie yelled through the closed door. "Some guy is here to pick you up!"  
  
She shook her head and grabbed her bag.  
  
"Bye," she hugged Francie. "Where are you off to again?"  
  
"London," she hated lying to Francie. She followed Sark out the door.  
  
"Be glad Will wasn't home," she said, tossing her suitcase into the trunk. There were two suitcases already in there. "How long are we going for? You look like you packed for a week!"  
  
"We may be there a week," he began, "but one of those is yours. I took the liberty of providing suitable clothing for you on this trip."  
  
"You picked out my clothes?" she shrieked as they got in the car. She regained her composure. "I pick out all my own clothes. I'll be wearing my stuff."  
  
"I take it that you didn't look through the folder that Sloane gave you," he said as they drove.  
  
"No, I didn't get a chance. Why?"  
  
"Well, for the first bit, you come from a very upper-class family."  
  
"Okay."  
  
"And second, you're quiet and reserved."  
  
Sydney snorted. "Yeah right. Like I'm ever going to stick to those rules."  
  
Sark handed her his cell phone. "Call your precious handler and tell him to do some shopping for you." She gave him a weird look. "What?" he asked. "You refuse to wear the outfits that I selected for you, and you haven't even seen them yet. Maybe he can do better."  
  
She shrugged. "Vaughn?" she asked when he answered.  
  
"Syd?" he asked. You're not on your cell phone. I got a different number on my caller id."  
  
"I know. Listen, I have an odd request." Sark snickered as they got on the highway. "I need you to call Francie and have her grab a couple of dresses from her and my closet and bring them to the airport."  
  
Vaughn stayed silent on the other line.  
  
"Vaughn?" she asked when she received no response.  
  
"Dare I ask what this is for?" he asked, sounding amused.  
  
"According to Sark, I'm supposed to be his rich, upper-class girlfriend."  
  
Vaughn choked. "G-girlfriend?"  
  
Sydney laughed. "Here's the best part. I'm supposed to be, and I quote, quiet and reserved."  
  
"I never thought I'd see the day where Sydney Bristow couldn't complete a mission," he joked. "Only now, she can't complete it because she can't be quiet and reserved."  
  
"I hate to break up your lovely conversation," said Sark, "but you're eating up my free night and weekend minutes."  
  
Sydney looked at him and shook her head. "Vaughn, can you do me a favor? Please get Francie for me."  
  
"Sure," he nodded on the other line.  
  
"See you."  
  
"Syd, be careful," warned Vaughn.  
  
"My guardian angel," she smiled. "Always looking out for my best interests," she added before hanging up.  
  
"I didn't imagine that you'd use my cell phone for a chat over tea," he commented sarcastically as she handed him his phone back.  
  
"I'm not about to have my handler do my shopping," she argued. "I just hope that Francie can get there in time," she added.  
  
They pulled into the airport-parking garage.  
  
"Go ahead," said Sark. "Open the suitcase. See if you can find something that suits you."  
  
She daringly opened it and saw clothes that she definitely wasn't used to: skirts of all things. She pulled out a long white skirt and a pale pink blouse and held them up. "Not bad," she commented.  
  
"When we get inside, change clothes. Leave your hair the way it is, don't put on a wig or anything," he said.  
  
She nodded and grabbed one of the suitcases. He grabbed the other two.  
  
She quickly changed clothes and fixed her hair a bit. "How are we flying?" she asked, sneaking up on him.  
  
He jumped a little bit and she laughed. "My private jet, what else?" he asked with a smirk. He looked her over. "You look the part, now let's just see if you can act like it. I've got fifty bucks on that you can't."  
  
"Deal. If I can pull this off for the whole time that we're in.wherever we're headed, some city in Nigeria, then you owe me fifty bucks."  
  
"Lagos," he corrected her.  
  
"Whatever," she said sarcastically.  
  
"Oh, and by the way, your friend Francie found me, or rather I found her. The dresses are in your suitcase, he said, unzipping it so that she could set the clothes that she had changed out of into it.  
  
They boarded the plane and she sat as far away from him as humanly possible, entertaining herself with a game of solitaire on her laptop and her CD player. She looked up occasionally and saw him staring at her, but thought nothing of it, really. He tapped her on the shoulder about two hours later.  
  
"You may as well get into character," he said as she gave him a dirty look from interrupting her. He saw the look on her face and smirked, "I'm so terribly sorry to have interrupted your fascinating game," he said, looking at how she was about to lose on a game of Free Cell. "Put your nine of hearts there," he pointed to the screen. She gave him another dirty look and put her headphone back on, but took his advice and moved the card.  
  
"How about a "Thank you, Sark?" That would be nice," he said. She leaned back to where he was leaning on the seat.  
  
"Don't you have something to do, someone to assassinate, somewhere?" she asked, annoyed.  
  
"Nah," he loved seeing her worked up over nothing. "I can't very well assassinate someone from up here. Sure, I could send out someone to do it, but it's just the thrill of being there when you." he trailed off, seeing the disgusted look on her face. He shrugged and headed back to his seat on the other end of the plane.  
  
She decided to leaf through the folder that Sloane had given her. Ellyn Anderson, born and raised in London, she read to herself. Great, she thought, here comes the accent. Met Sark a year ago when he was on business in London, he brought her back to the US with him and she's lived here ever since, she continued reading until it hit her- what was she supposed to call him. She couldn't call him Sark, obviously, but still.it was kind of embarrassing. How was she supposed to do this, go up to him and ask, "So, what should I call you?" She almost laughed at the thought until she noticed that he was no longer sitting where he had been at the front of the plane.  
  
She looked up and saw him standing behind her, leaning on the seat again, looking over her shoulder. "What do you want?" she asked, taking off her headphones again.  
  
"I just find it amusing that you pick the hours before we land and execute this mission that you read the information that you were given this afternoon."  
  
"You would," she retorted.  
  
"I have a feeling that I know what you're thinking."  
  
"Do you now? You read minds? Wow, a serial-killing fortune teller, I don't think that I've met one of those before," she said sarcastically.  
  
He looked at her one eyebrow raised, clearly not amused. "You're so funny," he said sarcastically. Here we go again, he thought. Here comes the verbal battle. "You're wondering what to call me." Why don't we just reveal everything about us, huh? His mind said.  
  
She looked at him a little funny, but then he saw a faint nod.  
  
"Just call me by my real name, Andrew," he said.  
  
Her mouth nearly dropped open. "Andrew?" she asked. The heartless monster who had tortured Will had a first name?  
  
"It surprises you, doesn't it?" he asked.  
  
She looked at him coldly and he smirked in response. "We will be landing within the hour. Be ready."  
  
She went back to flipping through the folder. She saw her picture, digitally edited to make her hair seem lighter. The only thing that slightly depressed her was that she still looked like Sydney Bristow.  
  
They landed and true to her word, she followed him silently off the plane. She tucked a piece of hair behind her hair as she uncertainly followed him toward the limo that was waiting for them.  
  
They heard a faint ringing sound coming from one of their bags. Sydney dug through her small carry-on bag and retrieved her cell phone just as Sark found his.  
  
"It's mine," she said and answered it. "Hello?"  
  
"Hey," Vaughn's voice came over the other line.  
  
"Hi!" she smiled. Vaughn always cheered her up.  
  
"How bad is it so far?"  
  
"I spent the plane ride sleeping, and then reading over the information that Sloane gave me."  
  
"Sounds interesting," he said sarcastically.  
  
"Oh, I agree."  
  
"He hasn't done anything to you, has he?" Vaughn sounded worried.  
  
"No, DAD," she smiled. Vaughn was genuinely worried about her and she liked it.  
  
"Good," he smiled, relieved. "The Echelon software is hidden inside. Break away from Sark and Cuvee and hunt it down, and then replace the disks."  
  
"Okay," she replied.  
  
"Did you ever get the clothes from Francie?"  
  
"Yeah, thanks."  
  
"We're arriving," Sark said as the car slowed.  
  
"Vaughn, I have to go," she said quickly. "We're here."  
  
"Be careful," he warned.  
  
"You told me this already." She smiled. "See you," she added and hung up.  
  
"You ready?" asked Sark.  
  
Sydney nodded and quietly allowed Sark to help her out of the car.  
  
Sark and Sydney stood in front of Cuvee.  
  
"Mr. Sark," he nodded, shaking his hand. "Who might this be?" he asked, looking at Sydney. Sark noticed a thought cross his face and he looked at her.  
  
Sydney saw the same look and a thought of worry shot through her mind. Did he recognize her from Kashmir? Did he, she shuddered at the thought, involuntarily shivering, even though it was a perfectly warm night out, notice the resemblance between her and Irina Derevko?  
  
"Ellyn Anderson," said Sark smoothly. He noticed her shiver and put his arm around her. "Are you cold, dear?" he asked.  
  
She almost made a face at him, but remembered that Cuvee was watching their every move.  
  
"No," she replied in her British accent, fighting off the urge to pull his arm from her shoulder (and maybe out of its socket) and wipe that smirk off his face. Or a fake smile, her mind added. She didn't know which one. "I'm fine," she replied.  
  
"It's a pleasure to finally meet the girlfriend of Mr. Sark," said Cuvee.  
  
She looked at the floor and smiled shyly as Cuvee took her hand and kissed it. She shivered involuntarily again and Sark pulled her tighter to him.  
  
"It's a pleasure," she said quietly, her eyes still to the floor.  
  
"Come along, Ellyn," Sark spoke to her like you would a small child. She nodded as he excused them and led her into the hotel.  
  
She sank onto the- single bed to her horror, and stared out the glass sliding door leading to the balcony.  
  
"I'll sleep on the floor," he offered, and she shook her head.  
  
"You're leading the mission. You don't- or should I say, shouldn't have to sleep on the floor." She dug through her suitcase and pulled out another small bag. She pulled out an air mattress, a small one, but an air mattress nonetheless.  
  
"Why didn't you tell me that you had brought an air mattress?"  
  
She returned his smirky smile and said, "Of course I wouldn't tell you. I'd rather torture you with the thought of sleeping on the floor."  
  
Here we go again, she thought. Another verbal argument.  
  
Someone knocked on the door and they jumped. Sark stood and answered it. Sydney fell backwards against the pillows on the bed and started flipping channels.  
  
"Mr. Cuvee wants to see you," she heard a man say to Sark.  
  
"I'll be down in a minute. Is he here?"  
  
"We will take you by car to Mr. Cuvee." Sark nodded.  
  
"Ellyn," he said to Sydney who glanced up briefly. "I have to go see Mr. Cuvee and discuss some things." He kissed her forehead and whispered, "Stay here or else," then turned and left.  
  
She sighed in response and as soon as he left, she jumped up and ran for her suitcase. She dug through and pulled out her black pants and shirt. She also grabbed her bulletproof vest, just in case and pulled her hair back into a ponytail after she searched the room for a camera. She didn't find one and quickly changed. She grabbed her backpack that she had hidden and grabbed her com-link.  
  
"Vaughn," she gasped as she hooked the rope to the balcony and slid down the three stories to the ground, her feet helping by pushing down the brick wall.  
  
She undid the rope and dashed behind a bush, hiding in the shadows. She saw Sark get into the car. There was a white truck sitting behind it. She waited for the car to pull away and lifted up the back door of the truck and climbed in.  
  
She sat in the shadows, thinking until Vaughn's voice came clearly into her ear.  
  
"Sydney?" he asked.  
  
"Vaughn!" the truck came to a complete stop and she heard the power go off. She pulled the door back up and quickly took out the driver, who had come around to unload the truck.  
  
She saw Sark get out of the car and ducked behind the truck. She threw another one of Marshall's exploding toys, this time disguised as a cell phone, layered with C-4 at the car and entered the pass-code on a keypad disguised as an automatic car opener on her key ring and detonated it. It exploded in flames as Sark and the guard dashed frantically toward the building, dodging the flaming remains shooting from where the car used to be.  
  
She slipped a sweater over her black shirt, still hidden in the shadows and casually strolled into the building.  
  
"Can I help you?" asked the girl sitting at the front desk. She had a bit of a French accent and Sydney decided to go on a whim and said, " Hi, I'm Christi." she paused, trying to come up with a last name, "Anderson," she finished lamely. So what if I'm uncreative today? She thought. "I'm here for the meeting about the." she paused again.  
  
"Tax raises," said Vaughn.  
  
"Tax raises," she said, continuing in French.  
  
"Down the hall, to you left," the girl replied, also in French.  
  
"Two points to Sydney Bristow," Vaughn said in her ear. She smiled. "My guardian angel, always protecting me."  
  
She headed for the stairs and flew to the third floor.  
  
"It's room 312," said Vaughn. "Dig through the black case in the corner."  
  
Sydney flung open the door. "What case?" she scanned the room quickly.  
  
"It's not there?"  
  
"No," she replied. She started digging through the cabinet. "Found it!" she shuffled the bag and pulled out a disk. "Lecheno," she said to Vaughn.  
  
"Is that a word?" asked Vaughn.  
  
"Echelon!" she exclaimed, figuring out the code and putting the disk inside her backpack.  
  
"What are you doing?" asked a guard when she exited the room and started walking back down the hallway.  
  
"I was.looking for the bathroom," lied Sydney. She kept her eyes low and turned away. She whipped back around and threw a punch. She kicked and punched and finally, knocked the guard out. She bolted back to the stairs and ran into Sark.  
  
He roughly grabbed her by the shoulders and pinned her against a wall.  
  
"What the hell are you doing here?" he asked, yanking her into a nearby room.  
  
"What do you think?" she asked coldly.  
  
"I could turn you in to Cuvee, you know," he said just as coldly.  
  
"No you couldn't. You need your precious girlfriend."  
  
Sark grabbed her backpack from her and dug through it, pulling out her clothes from before that she had hastily stuffed in there. "Put these back on after I leave," he commanded. He continued searching through the backpack. He pulled out her black disk, the Echelon disk. He waved it in her face. "What might this be?" he asked with a smirk.  
  
"I have no idea," she lied.  
  
"Hmm," he fingered the disk. "Lehceno.34752." He shrugged and pocketed the disk. "Get changed. You're here because you got scared when the hotel owner walked in on you unexpectedly, all right?"  
  
She nodded, hoping that he wouldn't figure out the code: Echelon. She quickly changed and hid her black clothing deep in the bag. She shook out her hair and opened the door. Sark was waiting for her.  
  
"Let's go," he said. He led her up to where he and Cuvee were meeting. She quietly took a seat next to him.  
  
"Miss Anderson," Cuvee nodded in approval.  
  
"Sydney!" Vaughn hissed in her ear. He had been silent the entire time. "You have to get out of there! We just got word of a bomb set to go off in the building at 10:30 your time, tonight!"  
  
Sydney's eyes widened as she heard this and she quickly excused herself for some fresh air and pulled out her cell phone.  
  
"This is Mountaineer, I need to speak with Agent Kendall," she said, repeating her voice code and Kendall came on the line.  
  
"Agent Bristow?" he asked.  
  
"Kendall." she started.  
  
"Agent Vaughn contacted you, I presume?"  
  
"Yes, the bomb?"  
  
"You need to leave now. Meet outside the hotel. Someone will be there to pull you out."  
  
She headed down the street and got ready to flag a taxi, but remembered that.  
  
"Kendall, Sark has the Echelon disk."  
  
"Then get it back."  
  
"How?"  
  
"You're the trained field agent out there, Miss Bristow."  
  
She turned to head back inside after hanging up with Kendall and saw Sark come flying out.  
  
"Duck!" he yelled, pushing her into a nearby ditch just as the building exploded into flames.  
  
Sydney rubbed her ankle. She had fallen on it when Sark had pushed her into the ditch.  
  
"Are you okay?" he asked, gently moving her hair out of her face where she was bent over, moving the sock down her ankle where she could clearly see that it was already beginning to swell.  
  
"Yeah, I'll survive," she tucked her hair behind her ear and tried to stand. She fell back into a heap on the ground. Sark offered her his hand, but she shook her head and tried standing again. She leaned against the dirt wall encasing them and gingerly put weight on her ankle, wincing as she did so.  
  
"Sydney, you're not all right," Sark said, trying to get her to lean on him. "Give me your hand," he said.  
  
She shook her head again, "Sark, I'm fine."  
  
He dug through his small black bag that he had brought with and pulled out a rope. "I can climb out without this. It's not that high and I'm used to it. Tie the rope to your waist and I'll pull you out when I get up." She shook her head. "No. I can climb up by myself."  
  
"You're acting like a stubborn two-year-old here!"  
  
"No I'm not," she started climbing, but when she went to take the second step on her right ankle, she fell back down into a heap. Sark bent down as she rubbed her ankle again and tied the rope around her waist, regardless of whether she wanted it there or not. He took the other end and quickly climbed out of the ditch.  
  
"Sydney," he called down. "I'm going to pull you out. If you can, help me with your good ankle." She looked up and nodded, biting back a tear. She was afraid she had broken it from trying to climb out. He pulled her out, with her occasional help from her left ankle, pushing against the side of the ditch. He took her hand and helped her stand on her good leg.  
  
"Come on," he said, putting an arm around her to help her walk. He dialed a number on his cell phone and ordered someone to bring the car around. A black car appeared and he helped her inside.  
  
"I'll be fine," she protested the whole way back to the hotel.  
  
"No you won't. We have the Echelon disk. I had someone go and pack our bags. They're in the trunk and we're flying home, on my personal plane. We have to get you to a hospital."  
  
"I'm fine!" she protested again. He helped her though the airport and carried her onto the plane. She fought him off for a minute but gave up and leaned against him.  
  
What am I doing? She asked herself. I'm letting Sark carry me onto a plane, and.she refused to think the final three words, I'm enjoying it, she finally finished. She closed her eyes and leaned her head against his shoulder. 


	2. Chapter Two

Chapter Two  
  
"What happened?" Vaughn asked as she came into work the next day on crutches.  
  
"Sark's stupid precaution," she muttered, raising a crutch. "I actually wish that he was here now, you know? Then I could whack him one."  
  
Vaughn chuckled. "Syd," he said, putting her crutch back down. "Kendall's looking for you."  
  
"What for?" she asked, following him.  
  
"I have no idea, but you do know that when he sees that you're on crutches."  
  
"At this point, I don't care. It's only for two weeks anyway."  
  
"Two weeks?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Sydney!" Jack found them as they turned the corner. "Sloane told me that something had gone wrong with the mission, but."  
  
"I know, you expected it to be something with the stupid Echelon disk, right?"  
  
"You're on crutches!"  
  
"No? Really?" she lifted one up again and Vaughn set it back down.  
  
She followed Jack and Vaughn to Kendall, where once again, he was looking over Irina's shoulder.  
  
"What is she doing out?" asked Jack angrily.  
  
"You sound like I'm a dog or something and I figured out how to get out of my cage," Irina said just as coldly.  
  
Sydney rolled her eyes and smiled at Vaughn. Kendall turned around to face them.  
  
"What happened?" he asked, noticing Sydney's crutches.  
  
"I am never going to Nigeria again," she said dramatically, mock-fainting into a chair that Vaughn caught her in.  
  
"What the hell happened?" asked Kendall again.  
  
"The building exploded, an hour earlier than you had said. Sark pushed me into a nearby ditch as it exploded so that the burning pieces of wood, brick, and all of that stuff wouldn't hit us. I fell on my ankle and then didn't listen to him when he offered to help me out and decided to try climbing out myself."  
  
"That was dumb," muttered Irina.  
  
"I never thought I'd say this," said Jack, "but you should have listened to Sark."  
  
Vaughn, Kendall, and Irina stared at him blankly. "What?" he asked.  
  
"Anyway," Sydney continued, their eyes returning to her. "When I got to my right ankle, I sort of re-twisted it and I fell again. Sark ended up pulling me out. When the doctor at SD-6 examined me, he said that I just severely sprained it, but I came close to breaking it. They want me to stay out of the field and off my crutches for three weeks."  
  
"Three weeks?" asked Kendall. "SD-6 could have taken over the world by then!"  
  
Sydney looked at Vaughn, her eyebrows raised. Irina shook her head and went back to typing.  
  
"What's she doing?" asked Sydney.  
  
Irina spun around in her chair. "I'm searching for another way to stop SD-6 from once again accessing Echelon, since you didn't manage to retrieve the disk."  
  
"I was a little busy," she muttered.  
  
"I don't blame you," Irina held up her hands in mock surrender. "Kendall's the one who put me up to it."  
  
"Your best buddy," muttered Sydney.  
  
Irina smiled. "There is another way to close the SD-6 portal, I just have to remember which server Cuvee hid it on. He's got about fifty, each one with the same purpose, more or less."  
  
Vaughn put his hands on Sydney's shoulders as she sighed. She looked up and smiled at him. "Are you sure you're okay?" he asked.  
  
"I'm fine, Vaughn," she smiled again.  
  
Jack left the room and came back again after a few minutes.  
  
"Sydney, Sloane wants us in his office in fifteen minutes. We'd better get going."  
  
She nodded and Vaughn helped her out of the chair.  
  
"I'll meet you at the car in a minute. Vaughn, can you help her out there?"  
  
Vaughn nodded and walked next to her trying to make conversation.  
  
"You're sure?" he asked again.  
  
"Vaughn," she sighed exasperatedly. "I'm fine, all right? If you weren't my handler, would you even be this concerned? Say that it was my dad for instance, that had sprained his ankle. Would you ask him, five, six, seven times if he's all right?"  
  
She could have sworn that she saw Vaughn blush as he answered, "All right, no, I may not ask him seven times if he's all right, but Syd.you're different. You're special."  
  
She forced herself to keep going and to not fall onto the floor as Vaughn said this. Did he.maybe have feelings for her? She shook her head, trying to clear it.  
  
She sat down on the wooden bench outside the building and Vaughn sat down next to her. She wanted him to lean over and kiss her so badly, but pushed the thought from her head.  
  
It can't happen, Syd, she thought. He's your handler. Remember protocol.  
  
"Would you." Vaughn found himself starting. The silence between them was deafening.  
  
"What?" she asked.  
  
"Do you want to go out for pizza sometime?" he asked.  
  
She smiled, "Of course. I'd like that."  
  
"Agent Vaughn!" Jack stood in front of them. "I ask you to escort my daughter to the car, make sure that she doesn't kill herself, and you're still three rows away!"  
  
Sydney laughed quietly and shook her head. "We got sidetracked," she said. Jack raised an eyebrow.  
  
"I can tell." He handed her the crutches as Vaughn helped her up.  
  
"I'm not completely helpless, you know," she said.  
  
"I know," he said with a smile. "See you tomorrow night?" he whispered hopefully. She nodded and turned to follow Jack.  
  
"What was that all about?" asked Jack as he got into the car on the other side.  
  
"Nothing," she said.  
  
"It was something. Vaughn was blushing. Vaughn never blushes."  
  
"It wasn't anything! When have you been so interested in my." she hesitated. She had almost said "love life" but stopped herself. "Social life?" she finished.  
  
"Social life? You and Agent Vaughn cannot have a quote "Social Life." It's against every rule in the book."  
  
"And when have you ever listened to the rules?" she asked.  
  
"For your information."  
  
"Dad," she cut him off. "I don't need a lecture. I'm sorry."  
  
"It's all right," he said.  
  
Sydney followed Jack into the SD-6 building. She sat down in a chair in front of Sloane's desk and leaned the crutches against the wall.  
  
"Sydney, are you all right? I heard what happened."  
  
"You were the first one who saw me, besides Sark," she said coldly, "and yes, I am fine," she added.  
  
"Good. Jack, I have a mission for you and Sydney."  
  
"A mission, for Sydney? Arvin! She's on crutches for three weeks!"  
  
"We can get her a wheelchair or she can use the crutches to her advantage."  
  
"And who won't recognize her? She's the only one at SD-6 who is on crutches currently."  
  
"We'll wrap her foot. People think that she sprained her ankle. We can also get her a cast and fake a broken leg."  
  
Jack sat back. "Fine," he relented.  
  
"Don't I get a say in this?" asked Sydney.  
  
"What do you want to say?" asked Sloane.  
  
"What if I don't want to go?"  
  
"What if you want to keep your job?" asked Sloane.  
  
"Are you threatening me?"  
  
Jack shook his head. "Sydney, you are going with me. Arvin, just give us the god damn mission and stop provoking her."  
  
Sloane nodded. "You will be going to Germany to retrieve a possible sister software to Echelon. Apparently, Cuvee has another base hidden there and you will infiltrate it."  
  
"Infiltrate it? On crutches?" asked Sydney.  
  
"That is why Mr. Sark will be accompanying your father. You are staying in the car and will hack into the camera systems and disable them."  
  
"I'm not Marshall," she said. "I can't hack a computer to save my life."  
  
"You could, and you will," said Sloane. "Jack, you and Sark will infiltrate the base and retrieve the set of disks and the hard drive. Bring them back to the car and report back here. You should be back by morning or a little after. Sydney, you will be in charge of making sure that they don't get caught and you will be their contact. When they go in, I want to know. When they come out, I also want to know. Got it?"  
  
"Yes," Jack and Sydney said simultaneously.  
  
"Good. Mr. Sark is already in Germany. You will meet him at the airport. Have fun."  
  
Sydney once again followed Jack out of Sloane's office. "Have fun?" she asked. "With Sark? Who's he kidding?"  
  
***  
  
*Berlin, Germany*  
  
Sydney sat in the back seat of the SUV that her father was driving. Her leg was propped up along the seat. She typed furiously on her laptop, in the middle of an instant message conversation.  
  
*Techwiz90028: How's the weather up there?  
  
JBristow: horrible- hey look! Dad's got e-mail! *grins evilly*  
  
Techwiz90028: Why are you even on your dad's screen name?  
  
JBristow: bored, I guess. Plus, Sloane blocked my account. I can't get into half of the good sites  
  
Techwiz90028: I see. SD-6 Internet is great. No one's taken up any of the great screen names yet  
  
Sydney laughed.  
  
"Something funny?" asked her father.  
  
"Nah, just Marshall."  
  
"Marshall?" asked Sark who was sitting up front next to her father. He turned around to face her.  
  
Her voice turned cold. "Yes. I'm talking to him online." She quickly signed off of her father's screen name as he pulled to the side of the road and turned off car.  
  
Sydney and Jack switched on their com-links and heard Kendall and Vaughn on the other line.  
  
"Hey," Sydney said to Vaughn.  
  
"Kendall's getting on now," said Vaughn.  
  
"Agent Bristow?" he asked.  
  
"Yes?" asked Jack and Sydney at the same time.  
  
Kendall tried again, "Jack?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Get the disk and get back to LA. We need you."  
  
"For what?"  
  
"A mission."  
  
Jack rolled his eyes. "Should I leave Sark in charge?"  
  
Kendall thought. "Yes," he said finally. "Leave Sark in charge and get back here. Sydney, steal the disk when you get him out."  
  
"Right," said Jack. "See you at home." He turned off the headset.  
  
"Going to SD-6," said Sydney. She flipped channels. "Dixon?"  
  
"Hey Syd, where's Sark?"  
  
"Right here," said Sark. "I'm approaching the building."  
  
Sydney watched as her father got into a taxi and disappeared from view.  
  
"Agent Bristow?" asked Sark. "I'm in the building."  
  
"Checking the cameras," she quickly disabled them from her computer and Sark radioed back.  
  
"I have the disk, but we've got company. Bring the car around back," he said.  
  
"With a sprained ankle?"  
  
"I don't care how the hell you do it, just bring the stupid car around!" she heard him running. She pushed herself into the front seat and pushed down onto the gas with her left ankle.  
  
"Get in!" she yelled to Sark. She slid into the passenger seat and he took the wheel. He drove frantically, turning right and left, trying to decide where to go and at the same time lose the car that was following them.  
  
"Sydney, turn off your radio with Dixon, in case we're caught," commanded Sark, making another left.  
  
"Dixon, I'm signing off. Tell Sloane that he'll either hear from us again, or they wont," she flipped over to Vaughn and Kendall.  
  
"Agent Bristow," said Kendall. "Get yourself out!"  
  
"I'm trying," she said as Sark dodged another car.  
  
"Sydney, get off the phone with your boyfriend."he coughed loudly, "err.Agent Vaughn and check the map. I have a safe house in Russia. We're flying out."  
  
"Kendall, I have to go. Either you'll hear from us again, or you won't," she said quickly.  
  
"Where have I heard that before?" Kendall asked before she cut him off.  
  
"Sydney pulled a map out of the glove compartment and looked through it as Sark pulled into a convenience store parking lot.  
  
"We're here," she pointed as he leaned over. She could smell his cologne. He smells good, she thought as she closed her eyes and inhaled his scent.  
  
"And we need to get here," he pointed off the map, about at her elbow, jolting her out of her thoughts.  
  
"Yeah," she shook off the feeling.  
  
"If we get to the airport, my private jet can get us to Russia. I have a safe house there."  
  
"You've said this once already."  
  
"All right, we can stay in Russia until we're sure that we're not being followed. I don't trust staying here any longer."  
  
"But why Russia?"  
  
"I have.connections, old ones, but connections. It will also give you time to perform your counter-mission," he said with a grin.  
  
"What counter-mission?"  
  
"Agent Bristow."  
  
"Sydney, Sark."  
  
"Sydney.I know that you're a double, all right?"  
  
She nodded.  
  
"Good, now that that's clear, you obviously have a counter-mission."  
  
"What makes you think I do?"  
  
"Your loyalties do not lie with SD-6. You always have a counter-mission, all right?"  
  
"I have to give Sloane a fake disk."  
  
"The usual?" asked Sark.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"I have the necessary materials to do so. We can stay as long as we need to and I can plead our case to Sloane."  
  
"Thanks," Sydney said with a small smile as he started driving.  
  
"Is your ankle all right?"  
  
"It'll be fine. It's just a little sore from moving it from seat to seat."  
  
"It should be for a few days," he patted her hand supportively, and to his surprise, she didn't pull it away.  
  
They got on the plane and Sydney sat down, staring out the window with her crutches beside her. About an hour into the ride as she was typing away on her computer, Sark took them from where they leaned next to her and decided to try them out.  
  
"What are you doing?" she asked with a small smile as she watched him move up and down the small aisle.  
  
"What does it look like?" he asked.  
  
"Like you're trying to annoy me," she replied.  
  
He set the crutches back down and sat down next to her. "What are you working on?" he asked.  
  
"A report for Sloane. I hate it, but he wants me to turn the stupid thing in."  
  
Sark shook his head, "That figures." He looked at her, typing away, totally devoted to Sloane's stupid report. She looked up at him.  
  
"You're watching me," she commented.  
  
"Is that a problem?" he raised an eyebrow.  
  
She looked at him, just blankly staring. What game was he playing? Everything seemed to happen in slow motion for her as Sark got closer and closer. She felt her eyes close and the touch of his lips on hers.  
  
To his surprise, she neither pulled away nor whacked him, like he had originally thought that she would. He deliberately deepened the kiss to see what she would do. She responded exactly as he thought she would, she deepened hers as well.  
  
When they finally pulled away, her cheeks were flushed and she smiled. She closed her laptop as he put an arm around her. She leaned her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. He gently ran his fingers through her hair, lulling her to sleep and soothing her without even realizing it. They stayed that way until they both fell asleep. 


	3. Chapter Three

Authors Notes: Sorry that it took so long to update, with being over- involved in school activities (basketball, volleyball and band) and homework, I haven't had time to type this. I'd just like to thank everyone who has reviewed so far, and if you'd like to submit an idea, I'd be more than happy to try and use it.  
  
I'd just like to mention that there is one little spoiler for "Getaway" (Vaughn and Syd's date) in here, so if you don't want to read anything with spoilers, don't read. ( Enjoy!  
  
Chapter Three  
  
"I could carry you if you want," offered Sark as he unlocked the door to the safe house.  
  
"I'm fine," she smiled as she made her way through the doorway.  
  
"Somehow, I don't believe you," he said, touching her cheek as she sat down on the couch.  
  
"Sark, I'm fine," she smiled again as he leaned in to kiss her. Suddenly, Vaughn's face flashed through her mind. "Do you want to go out for pizza?" his question echoed over and over in her mind.  
  
She pulled away, refusing to meet his eyes.  
  
"What's wrong?" he asked.  
  
"It's nothing," she said quickly. He sensed something was wrong, something that had to do with her pretty-boy handler. He mentally cursed himself for thinking badly of someone that she obviously cared a lot about.  
  
"You're sure?" he asked, genuinely concerned for her.  
  
"Yeah," she nodded.  
  
"All right," he nodded in response. "You're welcomed to whichever bedroom you like. There are three upstairs. The first one, to your right is off limits though. It's mine. There are two more down the hall."  
  
"Alright. Thank you," she said quietly, leaning on the railing and pulling herself up the stairs.  
  
She sank down onto the bed in the room that she had chosen. It was a pale blue, overlooking the quiet street. She could see the forest in the distance, and the sun that was beginning to set behind it. Vaughn, she thought. How could she have been so stupid? Kissing Sark.when you were all set to go out with Vaughn, her mind finished.  
  
She picked up her cell phone and opted to call Vaughn, let him know that she was all right.  
  
"Vaughn," he answered. She took a deep breath and began.  
  
"It's me," she said.  
  
"Syd!" he sounded happy to hear from her. "Kendall got so worried when you hung up on him.where are you anyway?"  
  
"I'm at a safe house in Russia.it's Sark's."  
  
"Are you okay?"  
  
"I'm fine. My ankle just hurts a bit from driving, but I'm fine."  
  
"That's good to hear. When are you coming back?"  
  
She bit her lip. "I don't know," she answered truthfully.  
  
"So you won't be back tomorrow night?" he asked, sounding dejected.  
  
"No, I'm so sorry."  
  
"How about we make it up?" he asked. She could tell that he was smiling on the other line.  
  
"When?"  
  
"The day you get back. We'll go out for pizza, you and me."  
  
"Remember our last date?"  
  
"It wasn't a date, Syd."  
  
"Yes it was, Vaughn. We had wine."  
  
"And a hotel room key," he added, "until Ariana Kane ruined our fun."  
  
"I'm just glad it's over with."  
  
"Me too," he agreed. "I have to get moving. Kendall called a meeting, oh joy. An hour of Kendall.droning on and on."  
  
"Think Sloane instead, I have to take double."  
  
"All in the fun of being a double agent," he laughed.  
  
"I'll see you when I get back."  
  
"Yes, you will," he said quietly. "Be careful."  
  
"I will. Bye," she hung up. She fell back onto the bed, feeling somewhat better.  
  
"Sydney?" Sark asked, poking his head in the halfway open doorway.  
  
"Yes?" she sat up.  
  
"Is it all right if I come in?"  
  
"Yes," she said again.  
  
"Listen, Sydney, about earlier."  
  
"Sark, it happened. I don't regret it though, and I'm not going to," she said simply.  
  
"Sydney, I don't know if we can do this."  
  
"I don't know either," she heard herself saying, "but I'm willing to take the chance."  
  
***  
  
Sark sat outside on the balcony just outside his bedroom, looking out at the stars. He hoped that Sydney would come and join him. It was always more fun with another person. As they always say, two's company.  
  
He groaned. He was quoting his m other. His mother.  
  
He had been nine when it happened. Nine, young enough to not understand, and yet old enough to remember the day vividly.  
  
It had been a warm day in June. Sark and his twin sister, Angela were playing by the lake. The one thing that Sydney didn't know about this safe house, was that this had been the house that he had lived in since he was five.  
  
Sark had been the youngest of three children, the youngest and only boy of three children. His older sister, Catharine, had loved to fish. She was thirteen. She had been out on the dock, fishing as her younger siblings played.  
  
They had lived in Russia for as long as anyone could remember. Sark had been five when they moved in.  
  
They knew something was wrong when their mother had started shutting the blinds. Next, their father had come out of the house, telling them to pack a small bag and that they were going on a trip.  
  
They had crammed into the old car as their father drove, finally pulling over into an alley.  
  
He smiled as he thought of what had come next. He had been born in Britain, taught tot speak English and Russian fluently, and also taught, better than any nine-year-old, how to run.  
  
He had asked where they were going countless times. Finally, he had made his parents laugh by asking if they were back in England and could he see his friend again.  
  
Shortly after, two black cars pulled up. His father had gotten out of the car and tried to make a run for it. He was shot with, he later found out, a tranquilizer dart.  
  
They shoved them into two different cars, his mother, Angela and Catharine into one, he and his father into another. Arvin Sloane faced him, a scared, lonely boy whose life was about to be ruined.  
  
He had been led into a small white room and tied to a chair. He was gagged just like his sisters and could only wait in fear as to what would happen next.  
  
He heard his father's voice in the next room and his mother's cry for help and her plea for mercy. Then there was silence after a single gunshot was fired.  
  
They then moved on to Angela and Catharine, one by one, asking his father questions, his father questions, his father remaining silent.  
  
Then, as Sark watched, they shot his sisters, right in front of him. He refused to cry in front of Sloane, the monster that tore his family apart.  
  
Two days later, his father broke into the room and freed him. Sark had taken off running, like his father had told him to and didn't stop, not even when he heard the final shot being fired.  
  
He had run and run, finally stopping when he was positive that no one was chasing him. It was then that he decided that he would kill Arvin Sloane.  
  
When he was eighteen, he joined Irina Derevko and the KGB. He also worked as a free agent, discovering what he could about Arvin Sloane and how to eventually destroy him.  
  
Gradually, he had drifted away from the KGB and worked on his own. He had been more than relieved when it was destroyed. He was still loyal to Irina, even though she was biding her time, rotting in that CIA cell.  
  
If Sydney ever found out that he was still ninety percent loyal to Irina.she'd kill him first and then Irina.  
  
She knocked on the glass door leading to the balcony. He waved her outside and she sat down next to him.  
  
"Am I interrupting anything?" she asked as he moved over to make room for her.  
  
"No, I was just thinking."  
  
"About what?"  
  
"Nothing in particular."  
  
"Sark, I know you. You are the only person on the face of the planet that can't sit somewhere and think about nothing."  
  
"Are you sure?" he asked.  
  
"I'm sure," she said as she scooted closer to him.  
  
***  
  
Three days later, Sydney walked into CIA headquarters, crutches-free. Her ankle was almost completely better and she was floating on Cloud Nine.  
  
"Syd!" Vaughn's voice brought her out of her thoughts.  
  
She forced a smile at the man she loved- or thought she loved.  
  
"Hey," she responded.  
  
"Great to see you without the crutches," Vaughn enveloped her in a hug.  
  
"It's great to be off them," she smiled.  
  
"Pizza tonight?" he asked quietly with a smile.  
  
Sydney paused, hesitant. She had kissed Sark- Sark of all people. Did that mean that she was in a serious relationship with him?  
  
You know the answer to that," she said mentally.  
  
"Sure," she heard herself saying, "let's do it!"  
  
***  
  
Sydney walked alongside Vaughn as they entered the restaurant. She quickly scanned the place and saw no security cameras or people they knew.  
  
"Two please," said Vaughn. They were led to a table and sat down. "What kind of pizza do you like?" he asked.  
  
"I'll eat anything."  
  
"Ready to order?" the waitress appeared out of nowhere and asked.  
  
"Yeah," said Sydney. "A large half pepperoni, half cheese pizza, a coke and."  
  
"Another coke," said Vaughn. She smiled at him as the waitress left.  
  
They made small conversation until the only person in the world who would wear sunglasses in a dim restaurant stopped in front of their table.  
  
"Miss Bristow," he choked out, trying not to call her "Sydney." "Mr. Vaughn," he added, pushing his sunglasses up onto his head.  
  
"Mr. Sark," said Vaughn coldly. "To what do we owe this delightful visit?"  
  
"Agent- Miss Bristow? May I have a word with you?"  
  
She nodded and excused herself. They went to stand outside.  
  
"What are you doing here?" she asked.  
  
"I should ask you the very same question," he replied.  
  
"Sark.I."  
  
"No need to explain," he said simply. He took her face in his hands one last time and kissed her, and then turned and walked away.  
  
She stood, frozen in place as he disappeared from view. She managed to shrug it off and give Vaughn a smile.  
  
"What was that about?" asked Vaughn.  
  
"Nothing. Sark had new news on Sloane."  
  
"And?"  
  
"He got the disk that I was supposed to steal," she said quickly.  
  
"Syd!"  
  
"I'm sorry, with Sark all over me, it was impossible to get it, at least the disk that he thought that was the one he was retrieving for SD-6." she said with a sneaky smile playing on her lips as she pulled the disk from her purse.  
  
They were just finishing their pizza when her cell phone ran. Vaughn's did the same.  
  
"Agent Bristow?" it was Kendall. "Agent Vaughn?" he asked. Sydney stood up and went outside with her phone.  
  
"Three-way calling?" she asked, amused.  
  
"Agent Bristow, you and Agent Vaughn need to report back to headquarters immediately."  
  
"Why?" asked Vaughn.  
  
"You leave as soon as we give you your alias. Agent Bristow's parents are in Malaysia."  
  
"What the hell are my parents doing in Malaysia?"  
  
"On a mission, of course."  
  
"You sent my parents on a mission to Malaysia by themselves?" she shrieked, but Kendall had already hung up.  
  
"Syd?" Vaughn asked.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"I'll get the check and the car. Let's go."  
  
She jumped into the car and they flew towards CIA headquarters in record time.  
  
She bolted through the doors and found Kendall, Vaughn close behind her.  
  
"Agent Bristow, please sit," he said, motioning to the chair.  
  
She ignored him and said, "Okay, first of all, why are my parents alone in Malaysia? They'll kill each other, if they aren't found."  
  
"Your father requested Ms. Derevko's presence. Unfortunately, we received a call from your father. He and Irina were found and Irina was removed from where he is being held. The even worse news is that Mr. Sark has gone after them. If you leave now, you will arrive about two hours behind Sark."  
  
"That's fine," Sydney said, looking at Vaughn. "Ready?" she asked.  
  
"Yeah," they headed for the car.  
  
***  
  
Kelang, Malaysia  
  
"This is nuts," Sydney commented as Vaughn drove. They were headed for the hotel as a brother and sister who were visiting their parents.  
  
"It is," agreed Vaughn, turning the corner and stopping in front of a two- story building.  
  
"This is it?" she asked.  
  
"It's a shop, but yes, it's the address that Kendall gave me."  
  
"Let's go in, snoop around a bit."  
  
Sydney pretended to be interested in a rack of sweaters while the salesclerk moved to help Vaughn, leaving Sydney's path clear. She bolted through the door and hard the satisfying click of the lock behind her.  
  
"I'm in," she whispered to Vaughn through her transmitter.  
  
"Good, good," she heard Vaughn say, switching his usual tone of voice to an unmistakably American accent. "You do have my size," he continued and she could tell that he was still with the salesclerk.  
  
She however, knew that he had heard her and continued down the hall, stopping every so often to check and make sure that no one was following her. She opened the final door to her right at the end of the hallway and pulled out her gun, not knowing what she might find on the other side.  
  
The room was stark white and empty as she flung open the door, her gun in front of her. She moved around the corner and saw another doorway. She cautiously opened the door and held her gun in front of her again. She saw her parents, bound and gagged back to back in the center of the room. Her mother faced her, her eyes widening as she saw Sydney. She shook her head frantically as Sydney moved toward them.  
  
She stopped, looking at her mother, confused. Irina's head jerked to the security camera in the corner.  
  
"Vaughn," Sydney backed against the door, which was now locked and whispered. "I need to you to disable the security system, do you hear me? Disable the security system."  
  
She heard footsteps pounding on the other side of the wall and the door in the other room open. She quickly looked at her options.  
  
I could make a run for it, she thought, I could, but if all the doors lock behind you, then it's pointless. I could stay here and hold the door until Vaughn disables the system or I could surrender. Neither of these options looked good.  
  
"Sydney!" Vaughn whispered urgently through the microphone. "I can't get the cameras disabled. Did you find your parents?"  
  
"Yes," she replied. "There's a team behind me, what should I do?"  
  
"I'm coming after you," he said, and snuck down the stairs. "What room is it?"  
  
"Vaughn, don't!"  
  
"Sydney, I'm doing this. What room is it?"  
  
She sighed and gave in. "The last one on your right." She pushed back against the door as someone tried to open it. She heard the door in the other room fly open and heard gunshots being fired. They suddenly came to a halt as Sydney was thrown forward by the force of several people ramming the door at once.  
  
She hit the floor and slid a few feet, but quickly got up as guns were pointed at her. She saw a figure, fallen and lying in a pool of blood.  
  
Vaughn. 


	4. Chapter Four

Chapter Four  
  
She almost cried out his name as she saw him, still and unmoving. The guns were still pointed at her and she put up her hands in surrender. That was when Cuvee walked in. Irina's face turned cold and Sydney wore a look of hatred on hers.  
  
"You shot him," she said coldly.  
  
"You expected me to allow him to waltz in here and help you? I don't think so," said Cuvee with a smiled. He walked closer to Irina. "Irina," he said quietly. "I suppose that we now know where exactly your loyalties lie."  
  
He undid the gag and she spoke quietly. "My loyalties have always been in the same place," she said, leaving the question unanswered for him.  
  
He had Sydney handcuffed and pushed into another room. He managed to remove Jack's gag as well so that they could speak freely.  
  
"I hate him," said Irina quietly.  
  
"He'll be back," said Jack. "But what about Sydney?"  
  
"She'll probably be tortured," said Irina in a monotone voice.  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Jack defensively.  
  
"Don't get defensive and don't tell me that I don't care," she said. "I do care. I'm just making a general statement." She looked over at Vaughn. "I don't know what we can do for him though."  
  
"Where's Sark when you actually need him?" asked Jack sarcastically.  
  
The door opened behind them and they braced themselves for Cuvee.  
  
"You rang?" asked Sark sarcastically, taking out a knife and sawing the duct tape that was taped around their wrists apart.  
  
Irina rubbed her wrists and peeled the last of the tape from them. "Did you see Sydney?" she asked.  
  
He shook his head. "No, I didn't. Does Cuvee have her?" He looked at Jack and Irina's faces. "Never mind. Stupid question."  
  
Jack ran over to Vaughn, who was still lying motionless on the floor. "Vaughn, get up," he shook the man. Vaughn had lost a lot of blood.  
  
"Can you carry him? One of you?" Irina asked Jack and Sark. "If we can't manage to get Sydney out now, then we can at least get Vaughn out of here and some medical assistance and come back for Sydney.  
  
"We'll find her dead if we do come back," said Sark quietly. "You two get him out of here. I'm going to find Cuvee. I have an alliance with him. I can possibly give him something in return for Sydney."  
  
"I'm not entrusting you with my daughter's return," said Jack, lifting up Vaughn.  
  
"Jack, we have to," said Irina. "We don't have another option."  
  
"Yes we do. You and Sark take Vaughn back and I'll get Sydney."  
  
"You don't know the base," argued Sark. "I do. I can get her out. I know where Cuvee would have taken her."  
  
"Like I said, I am not trusting you to bring my daughter back."  
  
"Mr. Bristow, right now I appear to be your only chance. You have to get Agent Vaughn out of here before he loses any more blood."  
  
"Jack, he's right," said Irina quietly. "Sydney can take care of herself. Right now, our main priority is Vaughn."  
  
Jack finally nodded. "You're right," he said quietly.  
  
"Take this door down the flight of stairs. My car is parked in the parking lot," said Sark, tossing Irina the keys. "Call for assistance using the car phone. Good luck," he left the room and Irina and Jack turned and headed down the stairs.  
  
"Mr. Sark," said Cuvee when Sark joined him.  
  
"Everything went as planned," Sark said smoothly. "Agent Bristow and Derevko believe that I am completely on their side. The car that I allowed them to use has a tracer on it, so we can find them. Inside the suitcase," he motioned to the table, "is a headset that will allow you to listen in on their CIA conversation. You can then report them to Arvin Sloane and SD-6; Jack as being a double agent, not to mention his daughter." he baited Sydney who was tied to a chair in the center of the room. She ignored him. "And hand over Derevko and her information to Arvin Sloane."  
  
"You son of a bitch," she muttered through gritted teeth.  
  
"Silence," said Cuvee, slapping her across the face. Her cheek turned red where he had hit her.  
  
"Sloane's not going to believe you," she said to Cuvee, "when you tell him that my father is a double agent. He's not, and Sloane and my father have been friends for years."  
  
"You and I both know that your father is a double agent, Miss Bristow," said Cuvee. "And yes, Sloane will believe me when I tell him. I have perfect evidence, not to mention Mr. Sark will enlighten him."  
  
"Sark can't." she stopped. She had almost said that Sark couldn't say anything to Sloane without exposing himself.  
  
"Mr. Sark can't what?" asked Cuvee, his eyes gleaming.  
  
"He'd never have the guts to do that. Sloane doesn't trust him as it is. Sloane wouldn't believe him."  
  
Cuvee slapped her again, this time harder and causing a small cut on her cheek. "Oh he would," he said quietly to her. "He would."  
  
He motioned for Sark to follow him and left. Sark stepped closer and whispered, "Stay put. I'll be back for you."  
  
"Stay put?" she asked sarcastically. "Oh yeah, I'm really in a hurry to up and go somewhere."  
  
"Your parents should have made contact with their ride now. The car that I put the tracer on, one of my men is driving in the opposite direction. Agent Vaughn will be fine."  
  
"It's not him that I'm concerned about," she said quietly.  
  
"What was that?" he asked.  
  
"Nothing," she said.  
  
"I'll be back," he said again, and quickly kissed her on the lips. She stared blankly at him as he left the room.  
  
***  
  
"Vaughn," Irina gently shook him as he began to regain consciousness. He opened one eye and looked at Irina. "Great," he muttered. "I might as well be a member of the family."  
  
"What family?" asked Irina.  
  
"Yours. When I got your virus, thank you very much, I got stuck waking up after being unconscious for forty-eight hours to Jack. Now I get stuck waking up to you," he said grumpily, sitting up.  
  
"Fine, I'll invite Kendall in the next time. You can decide then who's worse."  
  
"I'll take you and Jack, thanks," he said sarcastically. "Where's Sydney?" he looked around. "SD-6?"  
  
Irina remained silent, deciding on how to break this to him.  
  
"No," he said quietly. "You abandoned her?"  
  
"We didn't abandon her," said Irina.  
  
"Ms. Derevko," said a guard, entering the room. "Agent Kendall told me to escort you back to your cell as soon as Agent Vaughn had woken up."  
  
"All right, one minute," said Irina, dismissing him with a wave of her hand. "Sark told us that he would break her out. You were losing too much blood, too fast. We had to get you out of there. I was the one who pulled to get you out of there. Jack wanted to put Sydney first."  
  
"And why am I awake now?"  
  
"It's been two days. You've had about ten blood transfusions and been through surgery at least once. Kendall, Jack and I have taken turns sitting here." She stood to leave.  
  
"Ms. Derevko?" asked Vaughn as she turned.  
  
"Call me Irina, Vaughn," she said.  
  
"Irina.thanks," he closed his eyes and fell back against the pillows.  
  
***  
  
"Any word on Vaughn?" Sydney was becoming accustomed to these nighttime visits from Sark. Cuvee hadn't been in to torture her or anything. She was getting worried that he was catching on to Sark. Sark had been visiting her for the last two nights and updating her on Vaughn.  
  
"No," said Sark. "He woke up today," he said with a small smile. He knew how much this meant to Sydney. "He spoke to your mother."  
  
"What did he say?"  
  
"I don't know. Your father told me this. After talking to you last night, I flew back to the US and met with Sloane. They are sending in a team to extract you."  
  
"It's about time," she said.  
  
"Had I been able to do it sooner, I would have," he said sincerely.  
  
What's going on here? She asked herself. Is Sark going soft?  
  
"Sydney, I've got to get moving," he said as his head jerked toward the hallway. "I just want you to know though.that no matter what you decide to do about your feelings for Agent Vaughn, I just want you to know.that I'll always care about you." He turned and left, leaving her alone to think in the darkness.  
  
What was he doing? How did he know that she had feelings for Vaughn? Sure, the date may have been a dead giveaway, but how would he have known that it was a date, and not just a business meeting.  
  
You idiot, she mentally yelled at herself. Here he is, baring his soul to you and here you are, running off to Vaughn, who you think is always going to be able to protect you.  
  
She closed her eyes and leaned her head back, letting her mind drift away as she fell off to sleep.  
  
***  
  
"Come on," Sark hissed as he undid the tape that tied her hands together.  
  
"What?" she asked groggily.  
  
"Come on. We're getting out of here. The ride is outside. Let's go." Her eyes barely opened and he sighed in exasperation as he picked her up and carried her.  
  
"Where are we going?"  
  
"Sydney, listen to me. Did Cuvee feed you anything at all today?"  
  
"Just some water."  
  
Damn it, he cursed mentally. He knocked her out for a week. He put her into the back seat and got behind the wheel. He sped towards the airport and pulled out a syringe. "I knew that he was going to do that." He got out and opened the back door. He helped Sydney sit up.  
  
"Sydney, listen to me. I'm going to give you an adrenaline boost. We have to go, now!" He found a vein an injected the adrenaline. Her eyes flew open.  
  
"What the hell did you do to me?" she asked angrily.  
  
"Cuvee put something in your water earlier. I gave you an adrenaline boost."  
  
"Now I know how Vaughn felt."  
  
"Sydney, we have to go. Cuvee will discover that you're missing any minute. We need to be in the air when he finds out."  
  
She nodded and followed him through the airport. He led her to his private jet and they got on.  
  
"I'm still tired," she yawned.  
  
"By all means, sleep," he said with a smile.  
  
"Nah, staying awake is too exciting."  
  
"For the whole plane ride?"  
  
"You're right," she closed her eyes. "Sark?" she opened one eye and asked.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"I'm sorry," she said.  
  
"For what?"  
  
"You know what it is, and if you don't, then I'm not going to tell you," she rolled over in the comfy plane seat.  
  
He smiled. She was turning out just like him.  
  
"Sydney?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
He walked over to her seat and sat down next to her, putting an arm around her. He leaned into him and laid her head on his chest.  
  
"I love you," she said quietly.  
  
He opened his mouth and stopped, but continued. "I love you too."  
  
***  
  
"And what, may I ask, was the point in sending my parents to Malaysia? Surely it wasn't a vacation," she said angrily, butting heads with Kendall.  
  
"They were sent to retrieve a map, Agent Bristow," said Kendall.  
  
"Oh yeah, and did they come back with it? No! I had to go in and save their butts, again," said Sydney.  
  
"You've never had to save us," said Irina, defensively.  
  
"Oh yes I have," she muttered.  
  
"From who?"  
  
"Yourselves."  
  
"Very funny."  
  
"Actually," said Jack. "It was Sark who managed to get us out of there."  
  
"And get Vaughn shot at the same time," protested Sydney.  
  
"I got shot on my own," Vaughn was in a wheelchair again.  
  
"Hey," she smiled and almost hugged him.  
  
"It's all right," he said with a smile of his own. "I'm not contagious or anything." She hugged him.  
  
"Agent Bristow, the map has undoubtedly been moved," began Kendall.  
  
"Or wasn't there in the first place," said Jack.  
  
"What do you mean?" asked Kendall.  
  
Irina smiled. "It wasn't in Malaysia in the first place."  
  
"So you mean that we sent the two of you there on a joy ride?" asked Kendall.  
  
"No," said Jack. "We got Sark exactly where we want him. We put a tracer on him. We tracked him to his latest.location."  
  
Sydney fought to hide her shock. "Where is it?"  
  
"Just outside of LA. We'd like to infiltrate it," said Irina.  
  
"We?" asked Kendall.  
  
"Yes," said Jack, "As in Irina and me."  
  
"Then no," said Sydney before Kendall could respond. "I don't need to have to save you from Sark. I hate the thought of you two going off on your own little thing together. Dad, suddenly, you're doing the exact thing that you told me not to do, get close to Mom." She stormed off.  
  
"Want me to go talk to her?" asked Vaughn.  
  
"Yeah," nodded Jack.  
  
"Syd!" called Vaughn as she headed for her car. "Where are you going?"  
  
"I have to find someone," she got into her car and sped off. She had to find Sark before her parents did. The only problem was, she didn't know where he was.  
  
"Hey!" she yelled to Marshall.  
  
"Hey," replied Marshall.  
  
"Have you seen Sark?"  
  
"Yeah, in a conference with Sloane."  
  
"I need to pull him out of it."  
  
"Be my guest. Room A."  
  
She flew toward the conference room, hoping that she wouldn't be too late. What would she tell Sloane though, what could she get Sark out of a conference for?  
  
She opened the door and Sloane, Dixon, and Sark looked at her.  
  
"Agent Bristow," said Sloane dryly. "So kind of you to join us."  
  
"What are you talking about?" she asked.  
  
"We called you," said Sark. "You and I are going to Colombia."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Sit down please," said Sloane, motioning to a chair. "We called you on your cell phone, you know the one that you are always supposed to have on?"  
  
She took the phone out of her pocket and looked at it sheepishly. "I forgot to turn it on."  
  
"Anyway," said Sloane. "You will be going to Colombia. You will retrieve the Rambaldi code."  
  
"Code?" asked Sydney."  
  
"Rambaldi left a code, hidden in hieroglyphs in a cave in Colombia. You will retrieve the code and destroy the cave before anyone else can get to it. We will then be able to find the artifact behind it."  
  
"Any idea as to what the artifact is?" asked Dixon.  
  
"We have a slight idea, but not really."  
  
"All right," said Sark. "How long are we staying?"  
  
"You will only stay as long as necessary. Hopefully you'll be back by morning. Your flight leaves in four hours." He handed them a folder with the information. "Good luck."  
  
"I need to talk to you," she whispered as they left the room. She pulled him into another empty room.  
  
"What is it?" he looked concerned.  
  
"My parents put a tracer on you when you saved them in Malaysia. They know where you went after we got off the plane."  
  
"My house," he said grimly.  
  
"A safe house?"  
  
"No, the place where I live."  
  
"A safe house," she said.  
  
"Sydney, I do not live in a safe house. I have a house just outside of LA, as impossible as it is to believe."  
  
"Sark."  
  
"Sydney, call me Andrew. You're driving me nuts."  
  
"Fine. Andrew.when I left, my parents were getting a team ready to go and infiltrate it."  
  
His face grew cold. "Let's go," he said.  
  
"Where are we going?"  
  
"My house, we have to move some stuff from it so that the CIA doesn't find it. I have rather.personal items that the CIA doesn't need to get a hold of."  
  
"Like what?" she asked as they walked. "Not illegal drugs I hope."  
  
He laughed quietly. "No, not illegal drugs. I have plenty of illegal weapons, the major systems to my networks are there.I have to get rid of them, either destroy them or move them so that your parents don't find them. Let's just put it this way," he said as they got into the car, "I have essential things there that could destroy SD-6 or the CIA if I really wanted to."  
  
"You're kidding," she breathed.  
  
"No," he said as they drove. "I could take down Sloane and SD-6 by myself if I wanted to."  
  
"Then why haven't you?"  
  
"I can't tell you that."  
  
"You don't trust me?"  
  
"Sydney." he took her hand in his. "I do trust you, but if you were tortured for information or anything.I just wouldn't want to take the chances."  
  
"Andrew."  
  
He smiled. "I have to get Sloane to fully trust me first. I have to make sure that he trusts me and will leave me SD-6, or the weapons and connections to the Alliance so that I can later destroy them. Regardless of what your parents, Vaughn, and Agent Kendall believe, I am on your side, I promise."  
  
She leaned her head back against the seat. "I'm going to get to see your house?"  
  
"Yes," he said quietly. "You will. If we need to, we can stay there tonight, provided that your parents don't infiltrate it. We can leave for Colombia in the morning and Sloane will be none the wiser."  
  
"You're sure?"  
  
"Yeah," he smiled. "I'm sure."  
  
She pulled out her cell phone and pressed a few buttons.  
  
"Jack Bristow," said her father.  
  
"Dad," said Sydney.  
  
"Where are you?" he demanded.  
  
"Packing. I'm going to Colombia in four hours. My cell phone was off when Sloane called. I'm leaving."  
  
"With Sark?"  
  
She paused. "Yes. We're supposed to get the code of Rambaldi, the hieroglyph that will tell us where Rambaldi hid the artifact."  
  
"What about Sark?"  
  
"What about him?"  
  
"Would he be at the location we discussed?"  
  
"Probably packing, yes. Just wait until I get back."  
  
"Sydney, if we do this while you're gone, it'll be easier. He'll be out of the country."  
  
"Dad, I want to be there when you do it. I want to finally have something on Sark."  
  
"Sydney, we're doing this tonight. Make sure that you're out of the county!" He slammed down the phone, hanging up on her.  
  
"They're doing it tonight, after we've supposedly left."  
  
"All the more reason for us to stay," he said with a small smile.  
  
"I have an idea!" she said. "What if we switched the numbers on the garage and mailbox?"  
  
"To what?"  
  
"I don't know, one number off. What if they raided a house next door or something?"  
  
"What makes you so sure that I have neighbors?"  
  
"I don't know."  
  
"You're right, I do have neighbors. One won't be home for a while, so we have time to switch the numbers. Speaking of which," he paused. "We're here."  
  
She took in his house. a two-story blue house with a few trees in the front yard. A large tree in the back shaded the house, she noticed as she slowly got out.  
  
"We don't have much time," he said as he took a tool kit from his trunk. He tossed her a screwdriver and they went to work, changing the numbers on the house and mailbox, adjusting them by one."  
  
"3126 never existed," he said. The next house was 3130, and they had changed his house to 3128.  
  
"What if they just go by the car or the look?"  
  
"The car," he got back in, "Is going in the garage." He pulled the car into the garage. "And if they go by appearance, then we'll have to make a break for it.  
  
They went to work, loading up various items of importance and putting them in the trunk.  
  
"Do you want me to grab the computer?" she asked.  
  
"If we take it," he shook his head, "It looks too obvious. Take out a few wires on the inside." She opened up the computer and cut a few wires. "Are you sure that's okay?"  
  
"I can always have someone come out and install new ones. It's fine," he hugged her to him. "We'd better go," she said quietly, not wanting to disturb the moment. "Are you sure? I thought that you wanted.to explore. You couldn't get over the fact that I live in a normal house just like any other law-abiding citizen in LA."  
  
"Law-abiding?" she snorted. "Yeah right."  
  
"You're right though," he said. "We'd better go."  
  
She nodded and they headed for the garage. Just as they were about to open the door, Sark dashed back into the other room to grab something. He came back and as they opened the door, the doorbell rang.  
  
"We can't go now," she whispered. "What do we do?"  
  
He thought quickly. "We either hide, or answer it."  
  
They opened the door to the garage as they heard the front door get kicked in.  
  
"They're paying for a new door," muttered Sark.  
  
"What do we do?" she asked again.  
  
"Get in," he quietly opened the door. "And get down." They ducked into the car as the door opened.  
  
"Someone's here," announced Jack. "The car's here." "Sydney was supposed to get him out of the country."  
  
"Maybe he hasn't left yet. Search the place."  
  
They closed the door.  
  
"Do you think that there's a team outside?" asked Sark.  
  
"There might be," said Sydney. "It's always a possibility."  
  
"Then let's make a break for it."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Let's make a break for it, and fast."  
  
Sark jammed the accelerator down as soon as the garage door had fully opened. Jack and Irina came flying out as Sydney ducked so that her parents couldn't see her with Sark.  
  
"That was close," she said as they flew down the street.  
  
"Yeah," agreed Sark as they drove. "Do you need anything from your house?"  
  
She nodded, "Yeah."  
  
They arrived at her house and she packed a quick suitcase. She was relieved that Will and Francie weren't home.  
  
Sark drove to the airport and they changed clothes and became Mr. and Mrs. Cooper, a newlywed couple, visiting friends in Bogotá, Colombia.  
  
"Why do I get stuck playing your wife?"  
  
"When were you stuck playing my wife? I think that this is a new experience for you," he said teasingly.  
  
"I got stuck as your girlfriend. That was torture enough."  
  
He shook his head, "You scare me." He smiled.  
  
"I know," she quickly switched to a very touristy accent as a flight attendant came to them and asked if they wanted anything.  
  
They declined and went back to talking. Had someone spotted them and watched them, they could have passed for a real married couple, not enemies working for the CIA and against SD-6. Sydney closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep, listening to Sark's voice 


	5. Chapter Five

Chapter Five  
  
Bogotá, Colombia  
  
After searching the room for bugs, Sydney flopped onto one of the beds.  
  
"So where is the map hidden?" she asked.  
  
"Why? So you can take it back to the CIA?"  
  
"What are you talking about?" she asked.  
  
"Remember?" he asked, baiting her, "I know you're a double. You can lie to everyone else, sweetheart, but you don't have to lie to me." He kissed her. "Sydney, regardless of what your father thinks, I want to help you and the CIA."  
  
She stared blankly at him. Finally she just ignored his last statement and said, "Yes. I'm supposed to figure out where the real map is and give this fake one to Sloane."  
  
"Ah," he nodded. "I see." He sat down next to her. "How is Vaughn doing?"  
  
"Better," she said with a smile. "He's not completely better, but he's on the road to recovery."  
  
"That's good," he said, knowing how much Sydney cared about Vaughn. "Get changed," he said, motioning to the darkening sky. "We leave in an hour."  
  
***  
  
Sydney allowed Sark to lead her in through the back way to get into the office. She punched in the access code and they entered the office.  
  
"Any ideas to where it might be?" asked Sark.  
  
"You're the leader of this mission. You tell me."  
  
"You're the one with the orders to run off with the map," he said as she checked a filing cabinet.  
  
"You're the one who wants to help the CIA."  
  
"I think I found it," he said, pointing to an aquarium.  
  
She peered in. "You think it's in there?"  
  
"No, look." He opened the cabinet below and pointed to a keypad.  
  
"Bootcamp, this is Mountaineer. We've located a possible location of the Rambaldi map, but there's an access code."  
  
"Mountaineer, according to Derevko, the access code is 12970."  
  
"Are we sure that it's not going to set off an alarm?"  
  
"Did you get the code?" asked Sark.  
  
"My mother gave me one."  
  
"Let me talk to her."  
  
"No."  
  
"Sydney, we don't have time to argue," he took the microphone from her shirt and spoke into it.  
  
"Agent Kendall, let me speak to Ms. Derevko."  
  
"No."  
  
"Kendall says no," she still had the earpiece in her ear.  
  
"Either put her on or I will destroy the safe and the map."  
  
"Kendall says fine," she handed him the earpiece.  
  
"Irina, it's Sark. What is the real access code?"  
  
"Nice to talk to you too," she said sarcastically.  
  
"Tell me, Irina," his voice turned cold.  
  
"It was nice to see you at your house," she changed the subject.  
  
"Tell me, now."  
  
"14790."  
  
"Not 12970?"  
  
"No. 14790. Tell Sydney."  
  
"Sydney, 14790."  
  
"You're sure?"  
  
"I'm sure."  
  
She put in the code and the door popped open. She grabbed the canister with the map inside, closed the door, and they dashed for the exit.  
  
"Back to the hotel?" asked Sydney.  
  
"Yeah. Sloane made the reservation for us."  
  
"How nice."  
  
"I know."  
  
They went back to the hotel and Sydney checked into a second room that Sloane had reserved. They agreed to leave first thing in the morning.  
  
"Bye," he quickly kissed her and ducked into his room, grinning.  
  
It just figures, she thought. Sark checks into a hotel and shuts the connecting door in my face. Some relationship, she thought as she changed into a tank top and lounge pants. Relationship, the thought struck her.  
  
Vaughn.  
  
She realized that without even thinking about it, she had made a choice, a choice to be with Sark.  
  
She flopped down onto the bed. Vaughn, the man she had thought she loved from the day she laid eyes on him. Her Vaughn, her handler.  
  
"Hey," Sark opened the connecting door to her room.  
  
"Hey," she forced a smile.  
  
"What's wrong?" his face turned serious.  
  
"Nothing," she forced another smile.  
  
"Sydney, I know you. There is something wrong."  
  
"Sark.Andrew.nothing is wrong. I promise."  
  
"Vaughn. He said quietly. "You're thinking about Vaughn." He knew that he had hit the jackpot when he saw her face. He could read her so well.  
  
She nodded. "I feel bad."  
  
"About what?" he knew that she wouldn't tell him.  
  
"Not being entirely truthful with him. I went out with him after you and I got involved and I haven't even told him about us."  
  
The phone rang. "Sydney Bristow," she answered.  
  
"Sydney," it was Jack. "We have information necessary to take down SD-6. We're moving in as soon as we confirm the access code that you retrieved for us."  
  
"Dad! Just wait until I get back!"  
  
"Sydney, there is a new code each week. This one expires on Sunday. Sloane is gone. We need to take advantage of this."  
  
"Gone where?"  
  
"He's been gone for awhile. CIA Intel says that he left the country."  
  
"He left for three days last week."  
  
"I know."  
  
"They may be connected. Anyway, Sark's here, so I need to get going. Hold off." She got ready to hang up.  
  
"Mr. Bristow," Sark picked up the other phone. "In the future, please refrain from raiding my house. Thank you." He hung up in Jack's ear.  
  
"That was.different," said Sydney.  
  
"I agree," he kissed her. "I agree."  
  
***  
  
Astonishingly enough, SD-6 still existed inside the Credit Dauphine building the next day when Sydney walked into work. Sloane was still missing and he had left Sark and Geiger in charge, which she thought was a huge mistake.  
  
"I just got done speaking with Geiger. He's in full command. Says I never was to be put in charge."  
  
"Interesting," she said quietly.  
  
"It is," agreed Sark. "Anyway, I have a meeting. I'll find you later." "All right," she smiled.  
  
"Good. Love you," he said quietly as he left.  
  
Her phone rang. It was Kendall.  
  
"Takedown is tonight. It's a Saturday. No one will be here."  
  
"Have you seen my dad?"  
  
"No, he's supposed to be at SD-6 now."  
  
"I'll find him later then. We'll be by later." She had to find Andrew. He'd be able to help.  
  
She found the closed office door that he had gone into and stood outside, listening to see if she should go in or wait until later.  
  
".Everything is going as planned, sir. Agent Bristow has leaked the information to the CIA. The takedown of the Alliance should be any day now."  
  
Agent Bristow leaked the information to the CIA.that bloody song of a- Her thoughts were cut off.  
  
"Yes, Mr. Sloane. All right. Yes, goodbye."  
  
Sloane.  
  
She heard him get up and flung open the door.  
  
"Sydney," he smiled.  
  
"You son of a bitch," she seethed. "You betrayed me! You told Sloane that I am a god damn double agent!"  
  
"Sydney, it's not what you think," he started.  
  
"I trusted you. I trusted you with my secret. You told me you wanted to help us. Well, guess what? You did. You helped me realize who you really are."  
  
"Sydney, listen to me."  
  
She pulled out her gun and aimed directly at him. "Give me one reason, one reason why I shouldn't kill you right now."  
  
"Sydney, listen to me."  
  
"One reason Sark, one reason."  
  
"Sydney, you have to get out of here. When I left the hotel last night, I had orders to report back here.  
  
"Listen to me, Geiger knows you're a double. He knows that your father is one too. He's going to torture him for information, information on you."  
  
Her phone rang. "What?" she snapped.  
  
"Syd, get out of SD-6. Your father was discovered. You have to go," it was Vaughn.  
  
"Vaughn, I'm a little preoccupied here. Sark told Sloane that I'm a double. I heard him."  
  
"Syd, right now you have to go. Geiger knows. Jack said that they were sending a team to retrieve you."  
  
Sark had told the truth.  
  
"All right. I'll do what I can." She hung up.  
  
"Now that Vaughn has told you, do you believe me?" She nodded, and then punched him square in the eye.  
  
"That is for being a lying, cocky, son of a bitch," she said angrily, and then ran.  
  
She made it to her car and took off for the CIA, desperately hoping that no one was following her. 


	6. Chapter Six

Chapter Six  
  
"We will take down SD-6 tonight at twenty-two hundred hours," Kendall explained. "Sydney, you and Agent Vaughn will lead the team into SD-6 and wait for our call."  
  
Sydney nodded, still shaken after what had happened that afternoon.  
  
"Hey," Vaughn found her after the meeting.  
  
"Hi. Can you wait a second? I have to talk to Kendall."  
  
"Sure thing."  
  
"Kendall, can I talk to you?" she asked.  
  
"Make it quick. I have a meeting."  
  
"Sark knows."  
  
"Knows what?"  
  
"Knows everything. He knows. He knows I'm a double, he knows Dad's a double and both he and Sloane know that I'm a double. I heard him on the phone with Sloane. Sark knows about us taking down SD-6."  
  
"How?"  
  
She sighed. "Mr. Sark and I were involved in a relationship. He told me that he knew that I was a double and that I could trust him."  
  
Kendall laughed. "You trusted Sark?"  
  
"Yes," she said quietly. "I just wanted to let you know."  
  
"Thank you, Agent Bristow." He left the room.  
  
"Can I talk to you now?" asked Vaughn as he entered the room again.  
  
"Sure," she smiled.  
  
"What's going on with you and Sark?"  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"I saw him kiss you when he pulled you away from our dinner." She cringed. So he had seen her.  
  
"Vaughn, listen to me. I was involved with Sark, when we went to dinner. I found out today that Sark betrayed me. He told Sloane that I'm a double. He told Sloane about Dad too. Sark also knows that there'll be a takedown soon. Sloane knows too."  
  
"Sydney, I."  
  
"Vaughn, listen again. I punched him and our relationship is over. I guess that you could go as far to say that we broke up. I should have realized this earlier. I love you. We should have been together from the start."  
  
"Sydney, I put in a request for us to work separately. We won't be working together tonight."  
  
"You can't mean that. You can't mean that you don't care about me."  
  
"Sydney, that's just it. When you're gone, I can't sleep at night. I'm head over heels in love with you, but I can't just be second best. I can't live knowing that you could go running back to Sark at any given moment when things don't go right."  
  
"That's just it, Vaughn! I can't- I won't go back to Sark. I can't trust him. I can't not be with you."  
  
"Sydney.I," he was silenced as she moved toward him and passionately took control of his mouth with hers.  
  
"Sydney."  
  
"Vaughn, admit it," she smiled teasingly. "You need me."  
  
He nodded. "I do." They kissed again. "I do."  
  
***  
  
"Make sure that Marshall Flinkman and Marcus Dixon remain unharmed," she ordered over her radio. Dixon probably wouldn't speak to her again, she thought.  
  
Her father had asked Dixon to email the code to the CIA in case anything had happened to him and Sydney wasn't able to get the code. Now he was missing, she thought.  
  
"Disconnected garage security," a new voice came over the radio.  
  
"Vaughn?" she asked, smiling.  
  
"You think I'd miss this?"  
  
"You know, as much as I like you guys and all, could you please try to keep the disgusting stuff to a minimum?" asked Weiss.  
  
Sydney smiled. "Sure, Weiss. Anything to keep you quiet."  
  
"Congrats, future Mrs. Michael Vaughn."  
  
"You'd better turn around and go home," she said. "Vaughn's going to kill you."  
  
"Vaughn's going to kill who?" asked Kendall, getting on the line.  
  
"No one," said Vaughn, lying.  
  
"Ready, Miss Bristow?"  
  
"As ready as I'll ever be."  
  
"Move in!" commanded Kendall.  
  
The takedown itself was short and simple, a few gunshots here, a few roundhouse kicks there and many arrests.  
  
"Marshall," she said quietly. He was released from the CIA agent who had been holding him. "I'm sorry."  
  
"Syd, what's going on?"  
  
"She's a double agent," Dixon was brought to them.  
  
"A double agent?"  
  
"For the CIA. Marshall, there isn't time to explain now, but I will, I promise. Dixon, I."  
  
"Don't talk to me."  
  
"Syd, your father," Vaughn came up behind her and started.  
  
"What? What about him?"  
  
"We found Geiger," said Vaughn. "I.I shot him, Geiger, that is, but your dad, he."  
  
"No," she said quietly.  
  
"Syd, I."  
  
"Where is he?"  
  
"Outside."  
  
She flew out the door and found an abandoned stretcher near the ambulances. Her father's dead body lay on it.  
  
"Dad," she whispered. She could have sworn she saw his eyelids flutter.  
  
One of the CIA vans pulled up and the back opened. It was Irina, escorted by a team of agents.  
  
"Jack," she stood next to Sydney and whispered. She leaned down and gently kissed him. His eyelids fluttered again.  
  
"You little," Irina threatened teasingly, a smile playing on her lips. "You made us think that you were dead."  
  
"I did, didn't I?" he whispered, slowly opening his eyes.  
  
"Dad," Sydney's eyes watered up.  
  
"Shh, it's all right," he said. Irina called for an ambulance. Jack waved weakly as he was loaded into the ambulance and Irina enveloped Sydney in a hug.  
  
"Sydney!" Vaughn called.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Come on! Sark's missing."  
  
"What do you mean he's missing?"  
  
"He's gone."  
  
"We have to find him."  
  
"You won't," said Irina. "He's long gone, probably. He'll be in Russia."  
  
"He made a run for it," said Sydney quietly.  
  
"Agent Bristow, we just received word that Sloane is dead," Kendall said over the radio.  
  
"Oh yeah!" said Weiss. "We kissed their asses!"  
  
"He's gone," Vaughn said. "We're free." He kissed her.  
  
"Honestly, you guys, didn't you hear what I said? Cut the disgusting stuff!"  
  
"Yes, Agent Bristow, you are free," the voice was faintly accented.  
  
"Get him," Weiss took out his gun.  
  
"I sent out the order to have Sloane killed. Agent Kendall recruited me in secret for the CIA shortly after Mr. Tippin's capture and release. I have been working undercover as a free agent. You see, Miss Bristow, I have been on your side the whole time."  
  
"How can I trust you?"  
  
"I recruited him, Miss Bristow," said Kendall in her ear.  
  
Vaughn hugged her as she turned off her radio. "I love you," he said.  
  
"I love you too."  
  
"See, everything worked out in the end. Sloane, SD-6 and the Alliance were destroyed. Sark is fighting with us. We're good."  
  
"Yeah," she closed her eyes as he put his arms around her.  
  
"We did it," he said.  
  
"Yeah. We did. We did it." 


End file.
